Louisville women's basketball -- Paint perfection leads WBB to 72-59 win over I.U. -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

MYISHA HINES-ALLEN'S 25 POINTS, 12 REBOUNDS LEAD CARDS TO WIN AT I.U.

Teri talks about the game...

"She's a professional, no doubt about that. We didn't have an answer for her tonight." 

Indiana head women's basketball coach Teri Moren was effusive in her praise of Louisville WBB senior Myisha Hines-Allen during the post-game presser last night after Louisville's 72-59 win over the Hoosiers in Assembly Hall. And, she was quite right on the assessment. 

Hines-Allen went 12-17 from the floor in Louisville's win against the Big 10 foe and grabbed 12 rebounds. DOOO-BLAY got her double, all right, and left a crowd announced at 2853 speaking her praises as they filed out of the hall. A nice contingent of Cardinal fans were in attendance, stationed behind the Cardinal bench for the most part, and drew the praise of head Card Coach Jeff Walz: 

'Thank you to all our fans who made the trip to Bloomington tonight. We are so blessed to have the best fans in Women's basketball." 

Walz made his remarks via Twitter...he didn't appear at the post-game presser...IU women's sports information director Melanie Kramper offering an vague explanation of "he is doing his radio show". 

Nevertheless, the Cards came out strong to start...taking a 6-1 lead after three minutes. Indiana would regain their composure and tie the event at 6-6 and 9-9 before the Cards went on a 9-4 run to take a 18-13 lead on a Hines-Allen paint popper. 

The Hoosiers never led in the contest and trailed 22-18 after one, 37-28 at the half and 59-47 at the end of the third quarter. The Cards has blown out to a 51-36 lead with 5:40 left in the third after Hines-Allen gathered in a missed Arica Carter three and stuck in back in the cylinder. It was their largest lead of the contest...Indiana would fight back to a 65-57 deficit with 4:25 left when Amanda Cahill connected in the paint...but the Hoosiers would get no closer...Louisville ending the game on a 7-2 run. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING....

-- Louisville dominated the paint with 54 points and allowed IU just 30 inside. 

-- Louisville won the 2nd chance points battle 14-4. 

-- The Cards shot 48.4% for the game. Five Cards had eight points or better. After Hines-Allen's 25...Jazz Jones registered 12, both Sam Fuehring and Asia Durr contributed nine and Dana Evans finished with eight. 

-- The Louisville starters were responsible for 59 points. Evans, as mentioned came off the bench for eight and Kylee Shook was good for five to complete the reserves scoring.

She made sure that "this one belonged
to the Cards"!! 

So, the Cards travel to their second Big 10 opponent's venue and get out with a win. Turnovers were a serious problem for UofL in the first half with ten...but the Hoosier were even more inept with 13. The Cards settled down and committed just four in the final 20 minutes. 

Hines-Allen was spectacular and dominated both ends of the floor. She also held IU's Cahill to just nine points and five rebounds...breaking her consecutive streak of double-doubles. Physical, yes....that would be a good description of the Cards performance against an Indiana squad who played just seven players and got 191 minutes out of the five starters out of a possible 200. 

The Cards went into a loud road environment, took a few bumps and bruises, didn't play very well at times and still took home a 13 point win. Let's run Myisha Hines-Allen for Mayor and this one belongs to her...with a little help from her friends. 

DOOO-BLAY rocks. 

THE FRED REPORT

Another three? Lilly !!!"

F- Free Throws.  Louisville went 10-11 from the line. On the lone miss, it was the first of three for Asia Durr, who was fouled on a three-attempt, so the 'Three is better than two' Walzian Theorum did not come into play. WE PROUDLY AWARD A CAPITAL "F" FOR 90.9%

R - Rebounding. The Cards held a 38-27 advantage on the boards. 19 of the 38 were grabbed by Hines-Allen and Jazz. You control the boards, you control the game and Louisville did just that. Hines-Allen had eight of hers in the final half...being there when possessions were crucial. NO PROBLEM WITH A CAPTIAL "R" HERE. DOOO-BLAY! 

E - Effort/Execution. Louisville did not look especially sharp in the first twenty and some of that, I suppose, could have been because of the defense efforts of the Hoosier guards. There were several unforced turnovers that, at times, were almost comical. 30 baskets on 14 assists, is so-so. I'll go with a small case "e" here...better care-taking of the ball early would be something to work on. 

D - Defense. A mixed bag here. Granted the Cards held IU to under 60. They contained Cahill from getting a double-double. They also did a less the satisfactory job stopped the three and saw a nice lead late dwindle in the fourth. I'm going smallcase "d" argue it if you want. 

FINAL FRED TALLY:  F-R-e-d

SOOOO...

Let's not forget the prime objective of CARDINAL COUPLE, though. It is to promote the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports and Cardinal Athletics. And, this was a positive win for the Cards. Myisha Hines-Allen brought a bucketful of joy and excitement to the Cardinal fans there...and me. Jazz Jones had a wonderful game. And how about Kylee Shook leading the way on two straight fast breaks and making the layups! 

What happened to Paulie...well, that was neither joyful or exciting...and I elaborate on that below. But, for UofL basketball, advance and conquer was carried out and a team effort spear-headed by Myisha gave Louisville a road win over a better-than-average Hoosier bunch. 


THE ADVENTURES OF PAULIE

I should have known shenanigans were destined to be with me Thursday when they closed a portion of Hwy 150 on my journey to Bloomington and I had to take a 29 mile detour to hook up with State Road 37. My cell phone voice navigator got me through it, though.  

Things went well, though, with check-in and the pre-game hotel time. When I arrived at the Hall around 6:15... arrived at the main entrance and they sent me around back to go in. When I presented my I.D. and took a loyalty oath at the "round back" media check-in that I would be a good boy, they informed me I didn't have credentials. I showed the booth lady my e-mail from IU. She looked again and !Voila! I had credentials. They were for PAUL SKYKES, not Paul Sykes. I told her I knew him. She issued me a hanging tag. 

They don't wand or inspect baggage at IU, so that part went smooth. Finding the media room and where I was sitting was quite the opposite. Mutt and Jeff at the check-in gate said take a right and left and go down the hallway. No media room. I asked a security-type and he was almost sarcastic before relenting to radio his boss. His boss shows and says I need to go back to whence I came from, take the escalator, climb 50 steps and go to Section J or K. 

The IU folks took me on a journey, all right...

So, I do. I get up there and it's vacant except for the IU student radio guys. I ask about a media room, maybe some stat sheets. They were generous (thank you Jack Grossman!) and showed me how to get to the media room, which was down on ground level and on the other side of the court. So, down 50 steps, to the escalator and off to Grandmother's house we go...I'm thinking there is no way I'm gonna make it back up to Mt. Everest South with my bum knee and vertigo....plus replaced hip. 

Fortunately, things took a turn for the better. I see friendly faces in the media room. Al Greener, of pep band directorship fame, lets me know that I'm actually sitting at half court, just down from the radio crew and five rows from the court. I coulda hugged him.

After a wonderfully delicious (insert snark here) meal of cold, breaded Chick-Fil nuggets and stale cookies (we got it good in Louisville with media food, y'all) I limp to my seat. It was a section packed tighter than a tin of sardines but I squeeze my way in my chair between a student newspaper guy and some sort of board operator. He didn't talk much. The student guy was obviously at his first WBB game. I was entertained beyond belief...

I'm beginning to wonder if road trips are worth it, anymore. I never saw the IU S.I.D. in charge of media stuff until the post-game and it was OUR guys who got me in the right direction. Maybe I need a guidance counselor at away game. I know this, it'll be my last trip to Bloomington to watch WBB. Take that to the window. 

PAULIE REPORT: 

P - Personality. They were cold fish up there, except for Jack Grossman and our folks. No letter here. No personality.
A - Accessability. OK once I got in the right place but my legs are screaming and knee throbbing as I write this up this morning after my wild goose chase. No letter here. 
U- Understanding. None. The security guys, their boss and gate folks have the combined arena knowledge of Donald Duck and a pet rock. No letter here
L - Learned. I learned a lot. Bloomington is 40 years behind the rest of the world in arena management and employees who know what they're doing and where stuff is. A capital "L" for what i learned. Positve, no. But knowledge, yes. 
I -  Idiots. They've gathered them all from the various villages and brought them to Assembly Hall and Bloomington. BIG CAPITAL "I" 
E - Experience. I've had better experiences having syringes injected in my knee. Which I'm going to need again soon. I made the trip. I represented. I regret it. No letter here.

PAULIE RECAP:  _-_-_-L-I-_


OTHER SPORTS STUFF

Best of luck to Louisville Volleyball and Men's Soccer as they go to battle in the NCAA today. Get 'er done Cards! LIC4. Well recap it here, tomorrow, in Case's article and on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR at 11 a.m. on WCHQ 100.9 FM as Paige Sherrard, Daryl Foust and Julie Sullivan join me in studio.

GO CARDS! BEAT UNI and Arkon. Game times are 5:30 p.m. For Volleyball and 7 p.m. Soccer. See you at Lynn, if I can walk. 
paulie
xxxxx

Louisville women's basketball heads to IU -- Butler GBB wins opener -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS FACE BUSS, PENN AND 4-2 HOOSIERS THURS. NIGHT

The University of Louisville women's basketball team returns to the court after six days off to face the Indiana Hoosiers in Thursday 8 p.m. action at Assembly Hall. 

IU is rolling out all the stops to fill the historic facility with $1 tickets and free IU knit beanies to the first 500 fans arriving. The Hoosiers will also need to roll out their best efforts from senior guard Tyra Buss...who was recently named to the Wade Trophy and Naismith watch lists...talented freshman guard Jaelynn Penn (from Louisville Butler) and senior forward Amanda Cahill...who has 34 career double-doubles. 

The Hoosiers (4-2) have had an up-and-down campaign so far...with season-starting wins over Arkansas State, Southern and Western Kentucky in Assembly Hall. IU lost on the home court to Chattanooga by three before taking off to the west coast for Thanksgiving and the Hilton Concord Classic in Moraga, CA. Indiana defeated UAB by seven before falling to host St. Mary's 88-82 

For the Cards, playing their second Big 10 of the season, the key is to continue to improve. Jeff Walz expressed that the team had a chance to work on their game, instead of preparing for opponents over the last several days and he's pleased with the progress they are making...while stressing that they'll need to get better and better as the season progresses if they want to return to Columbus, OH for the NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four. 

KEYS TO A WIN

I'll look at five things the Cards will need to do well to secure the victory in Bloomington.

1) Win the guard play. The Hoosiers may have the one of the best guard combos that the Cards have faced so far in Buss and Penn. Both were named to the Hilton Classic All-Tournament team and are averaging 32.7 p.p.g. a game as a duo. Defense will be a priority for the Cards contingent of Durr, Carter, Jones, Evans and Zambrotta. 

2) Interior passing. Getting the ball inside for close-in and open looks definitely can improve your shooting percentage and with Hines-Allen, Fuehring, Shook and Dunham all performing well inside the paint...an interior presence will not only give the Cards points but also open up the mid-range and outside game for the Cards. Passing well, between the bigs, when inside is an area where Walz has seen improvement also. 

3) Doo-blay! A rare non-double-double from senior forward Myisha Hines-Allen in the Murray State win last Friday, but win just 14 minutes on the court...it's understandable. Expect to see "Doo-blay" gather considerably more minutes on the wood tonight and a return to double-double form could be essential if the Cards hope to leave Bloomington with a "W". 

4) Durr-ability. Asia Durr saw just 20 minutes against the Racers and one would think she, also, will see more minutes against IU. A return to her three-point prowess and team play could be a key factor if the Cards are going to improve to 7-0 on the season. 

5) Handling the environment. It'll be a noisy, rowdy environment tonight in Assembly Hall...maybe not as crazy as it was in West Lafayette for the men's BB team Tuesday night, the packed arena last night when the Duke and IU men faced off in Assembly Hall, nor what the Cards WBB squad faced in Columbus against Ohio State...but still a home crowd that could catch on fire and spur IU to do great things. They did bring in 3000 for WKU and most expect double that in the seats for the Cards  A nice early season test for UofL in a hostile environment. Let's see how they handle it. 

SPEAKING OF CARDINALS...

It was announced Wednesday that Hines-Allen and Durr were named to the list of 50 women's college basketball players to watch for the Citizen National Naismith Player of the Year trophy. 

Another feather in the caps of the dynamic duo, who are also on the John Wooden Preseason To 30, espnW Top 25, WNIT All-Torunament Team and preseason All-ACC together. 

Hines-Allen is ninth all-time at Louisville in scoring with 1563 points. She is just 14 behind Sharon Bellamy for eighth. 

Durr has 115 points through six games this season and has hit 183 threes in her career which is good for seventh on Louisville's all time list.


BEARETTS WIN SEASON OPENER AGAINST JOHN HARDIN

The Louisville Butler Bearettes are considered one of the teams that will give defending Girls' State Champion Mercer County a run for the title this season in Kentucky Girls High School hoops. The Shively school got the 2017-18 campaign off to a good start on the road with a 56-34 win over E'Town's John Hardin squad. 

The Bearettes outscored the Lady Bulldogs 19-8 in the third quarter to break wide open a 2 point Butler lead at the half and went on to comfortably take the 22 point win. 

Louisville commit Molly Lockhart, hampered by an injured finger, had just four points for Butler. 

Of particular note, Bearette freshman guard Dynastee White began her high school career quite impressively, coming off the bench for three points, two steals, one block, one rebound and five assists. For a freshman, reports are she did a quite effective job running the point for Butler. Keep an eye on this girl as the season progresses. 

The Bearettes will be tough to beat in the Sixth Region this season and John Hardin is one of the favorites to win the Fifth region...so these two could be seeing each other again down the road come Tournament time in March. 


THANK YOU

This is the final day of November and our final day of Donation Month. Thank you for your support of CARDINAL COUPLE. Although we fell short of our goal, we had a record month for donations. We are very grateful and thank you for what we received. 

It is also the 3000th post we have made here at the site. It's been a long journey and a fun journey. Thanks for coming along on the ride as we discuss the joy and excitement of UofL Athletics and women's sports! 

paulie
xxxxx 

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MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-IU vs UofL in WBB: Why not? 


-Cards south of the border


(David Watson has the Monday Cardinal Couple for you. As usual, he's got questions. Enjoy) 

The campuses of Indiana University and the University of Louisville are only about 90 minutes apart but they've only met in women's basketball nine time in 37 years. Only three of these meetings have been on the Cards home court, all wins. The series record is, coincidentally, 3-6 in favor of IU. The two haven't met since the 2005-06 season, under Tom Collen, when Louisville won 72-67 in Freedom Hall. Helen Johnson had 20 points that night for the Cards and Katie Olson and Missy Taylor added 12 points each. 


Isn't it time for these two to get together again? 

There have been a few changes in Bloomington. Following a 6-24 season in 2011-12, the Hoosiers decided to change coaches and brought Curt Miller on board. A good move. Curt is the 16th winningest coach by percentage in NCAA D1 history. 258-92 (.737) 


Wins are good, IU. Have some.


Curt goes westward from Bowling Green, where he also accomplished a 100% graduation rate in 11 years and a team G.P.A. that never dropped below 3.0 


Knowledge is good also, Curt, Good job. 

UofL assistant coach
Cam Newbauer has
a little sister who plays
at IU. 

The Hoosier are probably tired of being the laughingstock of Big 10 women's basketball. 1-15 last year probably didn't have them lining up early to get into Assembly Hall. Since Tom Crean is busy with turning the men's program around, the brain-trust at IU probably figured that if one change is good, two just might be better. Enter Curt, Exit Felicia. 


It may not be easy at first for Curt. He's losing three out of his top four scorers via graduation. Two players of note that I'm guessing will be back are Andrea Newbauer and Quaneishia McCurdy. 


Newbauer is UofL assistant coach Cameron Newbauer little sister. She got around 28 minutes a game last year and will be a senior in the upcoming season. She was a terrific guard in IU high school hoops. 

Quaneishia McCurdy was an early verbal to UofL back in her high school days at Dalton, GA. She suddenly changed her mind and announced that she was signing with IU. At 6'5" she has the height to be effective in the post. She may have glanced at the UofL roster, though and realized she'd be an after-thought in the playing rotation. In her freshman season at IU last year, she played about 15 minutes a game and averaged around five points a contest. 


It's time to span the bridge and get these two schools playing again. An IU game would probably draw a few more into the YUM! than Gardner-Webb or Austin Peay.


Jeff, meet Curt. Curt, meet Cam. Cam, call your sister. Shake hands and add each other to your non-conference schedules. 


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UofL WBB is headed to Mexico for hoops before Thanksgiving. CARDINAL COUPLE writer Sandy Walker will have more on that tomorrow. I backed off the article because every time I think of my horrible week in Cancun I get nauseous and run to the bathroom. 


When they tell you that you shouldn't drink the water, that also includes ice in drinks. 


Bleck. 


Stay with the bottled stuff, Shoni and Bria. 


(David Watson is a special correspondent for CARDINAL COUPLE. He also claims he invented the sticky stuff on the back of Post-It notes but we're pretty sure he didn't.) 
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